The Letter
by lizdonaghy
Summary: Briony Tallis, through the exitement of the end of WWII, receives a letter from her brother. While returning home, there is nothing that stops the painful memories flooding back though her mind. ONESHOT


**Okay, this hadn't turned out at **_**all **_**like I had hoped. I'm not at all happy about how I wrote this, and I hope you guys understand why it sucks so much. **

**This story was finished a while ago, I just didn't have any heart to post it up. As much as I've tried to change it, update it… this is what I've ended up with.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Atonement. Sigh… that would be cool though. **

**OOH, I wrote a crossover story a while ago. Atonement and Titanic : ) Please check it out if you have time, and review it ! thanks in advance. Its called, "Ill Fated Love"**

_**xxx**_

_Dear Briony,_

_You are needed at home at once. Please come quickly._

_Your loving brother,_

_Leon._

Briony Tallis sat on her bed at St. Thomas' hospital. Most of her fellow nurses had already left. Briony's bag was already packed and placed on her bed, beside her most precious typewriter. She had just been about to leave when one of the nurse's assistant came with a letter marked "urgent" on the front in big, bold red letters.

And to think, moments before she'd had been overflowing in happiness. As happy as she could possibly be, anyways…she was never truly happy since that night, many years ago.

The war had ended yesterday. The girls found out but this morning. Briony could barely describe the giddiness and excitement flowing through the girl's rooms, let alone the entire hospital.

Instantly the nurses were grabbing their suitcases and packing them recklessly, in desperation to get home to their families.

After reading the letter, Briony just sat silently on her bed. She stayed still, murmuring goodbye's to the few that stopped in their hurry to talk to her.

"Tallis, you okay?" Fiona asked, barely trying to mask her excitement over the news of the war.

"I'm fine." Briony smiled weakly. "You should hurry on now, catch your bus."

"If you're sure, Tallis." Fiona beamed and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "Have a good one, and get home safely."

Briony nodded. Looking up, Fiona had been the last to leave the room. Just as she was reaching over for the door, Briony spoke.

"My name is Briony." She said. "Briony Tallis."

"Briony." Fiona murmured. "That's such a pretty name."

Briony nodded and stood up slowly. The pair exchanged another set of goodbyes and Briony clicked the buckles of her brown suitcase shut. She lifted her typewriter and struggled down the hallway.

With the letter tightly pressed between her lips, she murmured to the secretary manning the desk that she was leaving and stepped outside the hospital doors.

Outside, she felt the warm sunlight beat down on her. Briony stopped on the highest step and lifted her head towards the sky, closing her eyes as she did so. She breathed slowly, inhaling the air. It smelled different…

The next train left in a little over than an hour, she soon found out. It was well, because it took her directly to the station five minutes from the Tallis house. Briony claimed a seat and went to fetch a cup of tea. She sat alone.

The train ride was loud, but it didn't stop her from falling asleep. She slept still and dreamless, just as she had for the longest time. She woke up to the bell, signaling they had arrived and she pulled off.

_**---**_

She had underestimated the distance from the train stop and her house. Soon, the sun started to set and the sky filled with darkness. She looked around at the sights for a distraction from her wandering thoughts. She saw the field of bushes that looked familiar, it was the one she went to when she was young as an escape. She then realized where she was.

She was on the road that Robbie was walking down as he handed her his letter to Cecilia.

Tears fell from Briony's eyes as she dropped her bags and walked over to the fence that surrounded the field. She pulled her fingers along the wood, and stood, staring down at the grass, like when Robbie was staring down at her twelve-year old self. Where Robbie would have been standing, blossoms of wild flowers had bloomed. This only made her cry harder.

She grabbed her bags and ran from the memory. Further and further until she came into the Tallis yard. It hadn't been mowed in a long time. She ran past the fountain, and past the patch of grass that Cecilia and her had been lying on that one day. The last time they spoke to one another in an accepting manner…the last time she smiled at her.

As she stepped into the foyer, she felt a warm feeling rush over her, smelling the all too familiar scent of the wood floors right after they have been polished. She dropped her bags again, not wanting to lift them any further, and went through to the living room.

"Leon…" She whispered, walking in to see him on the sofa. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Leon rushed over and wrapped her in his arms.

"Oh little Sis…" He said slowly, squeezing her tighter with each world. When Briony gently pried away, she saw that he'd been crying.

"Leon?"

Leon lifted her hand and dragged her up the long stairs. Briony saw that the library door had been left wide open, and she struggled to look at it. Leon whispered that they should hurry, and Briony obeyed.

They soon found themselves in front of their mother's room. Sobs and cries echoed down the hallway and this alone caused her eyes to fill up with tears.

"What's happened?" She whispered.

Leon opened the door and the sobs came louder. Briony saw Emily on her bed, her face hardly recognizable as it was red and puffed. On her lap, a box of tissues and a series of different colored handkerchiefs were scattered all over.

"Briony!" Emily cried, desperately wiping at her eyes to hide the tears.

"Mummy, what's happened?" Briony asked pleadingly, rushing to her side and grabbing her hand.

Emily simply erupted in another fit of tears. Leon went and grabbed an open letter on the nightstand, and handed it over to Briony. While grabbing it from him, she saw that his hand was shaking.

She read it over and over, hoping that the words would change. Her hands started to shake as well, and could no longer hold the letter upright. It fell onto the ground and Briony started to cry. She looked onto her brother for support, _anything _to comfort her, but his tear filled eyes did nothing.

"No…" She whispered.

"Briony…" Leon reached out to grab her hand, but Briony simply shook it off.

"No!" She sobbed, collapsing completely on the floor, her entire body shaking with each breath she took. The letter, now forgotten, lay beside her.

Cecilia was dead.

**I know this could be inaccurate at some points, I'm sorry about that. **

**Please review.**

**xo Hazel**


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